Panthers take Ekblad with No. 1 pick in NHL draft

PHILADELPHIA -- Florida selected Aaron Ekblad with the first pick in the NHL draft on Friday, making him the first defenseman to go No. 1 since St. Louis took Erik Johnson in 2006.

Without a clear cut No. 1 on the board, Panthers general manager Dale Tallon was open to trading the pick. In the end, he decided to take the 18-year-old defenseman from Belle River, Ontario.

“I want that burden of expectation,”Ekblad said. “I want that feel for motivation and I want to succeed under that.”

The Panthers had a top-three pick in the NHL draft for the fourth time in the past five years. The first three — defenseman Erik Gudbranson (in 2010), wing Jonathan Huberdeau (2011) and center Aleksander Barkov (2013) — all played significant roles last season. Florida also won the draft lottery in 2002 and 2003, but traded away those picks.

“We are thrilled to have selected Aaron with the No. 1 pick,” Tallon said. “He is a strong, smart and physically mature defenseman who skates well and can play at both ends of the ice. Aaron is another building block for our team and we are confident that he will fit well with our young nucleus of talented players.”

Ekblad ranked first among defensemen in the Onatrio league last season with 23 goals and tying for fifth with 53 points. He also served as Barrie's captain.

Buffalo selected center Sam Reinhart with the second overall pick. He is the son of former NHL player Paul Reinhart, who was selected by the Atlanta Flames in the first round in 1979.

Reinhart has the potential to be a top-line center in filling a key need for the rebuilding Sabres, who are coming off one of their worst seasons in franchise history. Buffalo (21-51-10) finished last in the NHL standings, and set a franchise record for losses.

There was a big trade in the hours before the draft, when Anaheim acquired center Ryan Kesler from Vancouver for center Nick Bonino, defenseman Luca Sbisa and the 24th overall pick.

The 29-year-old Kesler is a standout two-way center who has spent his entire 10-season career in Vancouver, compiling six 20-goal seasons and 392 career points. The two-time U.S. Olympian won the Selke Trophy in 2011 as the NHL's best defensive forward.

Nashville traded forward Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling to Pittsburgh for forward James Neal midway through the draft.